Archive for May, 2012

You could always save your layouts as JPEG, but sometimes the results were less then pristine because JPEG, by design, is a lossy format. In today’s web and device dominated world, if anything you need a lossless format such as PNG. And in InDesign CS6, you can do just that. Read on to figure out how to save from InDesign as PNG. This is the Save as PNG capability that you’ve been waiting for.

Export as PNG

To export as PNG, choose File > Export (Ctrl/Command + E) and then select PNG from the Save as Type drop down list.

Export options

PNG Export options dialog box

You can export a selection, a range, or All pages/spreads in your document. Additional options lets you specify, quality, resolution (ppi), color space etc.

Download Trial

Have you taken the PNG export for a spin yet? Have you tried InDesign CS6 ? Download a trial. Incase you need it, see the instructions to install a trial.

Among the various new features in InDesign CS6, Grayscale Preview and Export should come in really handy to all print designers. For any print jobs that also need a grayscale output, you no longer need to maintain a separate file. You also don’t need to send the full color PDF to the printer and cross your fingers that they’ll do a proper conversion. This feature gives you proper control on your design, and reduces extra work for maintaining different layouts.

Grayscale Preview

Several Dot Gain profiles are available with InDesign CS6 that you can use to preview your layouts. Using this feature you can avoid maintaining different layouts for full-color and grayscale outputs.

With InDesign CS6, you have the ability to create documents using indic text. Adobe World-Ready Composer (WRC) provides correct word shaping for many of the non-Western scripts, such as Devanagari. Adobe World-Ready composers in the International English version of InDesign, support several indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Oriya, Malayalam, and Kannada.

This blog post is about why I think Adobe® Creative Cloud™ has the potential to change the way we work, the problems it solves, and effect it may have on the way the traditional digital media businesses operates.

What is Creative Cloud?

Adobe® Creative Cloud™ is the digital hub that lets you download and install every Adobe Creative Suite® 6 application; access online services for file sharing, collaboration, and publishing; and benefit from new apps and features as soon as they’re released — giving you the freedom to create anything you can imagine.

At the heart of it, Adobe Creative Cloud it offers compelling value to designers.

But the more I think about it, I see it as an agent for change. As it rolls out and touches other parts of the digital media ecosystem, it has the potential to simplify business and streamlines operations. So that you can concentrate on doing what you do best: Design!

Offers compelling value

Typically, you use several tools and platforms in your day to day lives: Creative Suite Software, tablet applications, cloud storage such as DropBox or Google Drive etc. If you add up the cost of all software that you use, you’ll be way over the subscription cost for Adobe Creative Cloud.

So, in brief, Creative Cloud is:

Creative Suite applications. All of them. You can install as many (or as few) as you want.

Access to latest software. For example, Adobe Muse and Edge Preview.

Adobe Touch tools for tablet devices

Services such as TypeKit, and Digital Publishing Suite

Cloud storage

What makes it even more compelling is:

Multi-platform. Yes, both Mac OS and Windows

Integration between the various components. For details see the Creative Cloud product page.

For more information, head over to the Buying Guide and see how it stacks up.

Access to latest software

In today’s fast paced world where technology changes in the blink of an eye, you need the latest tools. The speed with which you adapt to new technologies plays a crucial role in how successful you are. Adobe Creative Cloud ensures that you’ll always have the latest and greatest software. As updates are released, they’ll reach you. If new software is added to the offering, it’ll reach you. You’ll never have to fork over extra cash for these new features, or wait for the next upgrade.

If you operate your own business, or talk to your accountants, you’ll also appreciate the simplicity of this model. No mores accounting hassles. No more additional purchase orders or invoices to track. No planned budget overruns.

Expand service offerings

Traditionally, folks specialized in particular arts or mediums. The video people are different from print guys, and web guys are ones with long beards in the basement hacking away at the keyboards, and tablet folks are geeks with all the Objective C and stuff.

Adobe Creative Cloud, in its own way erases these boundaries. (OK, does not erase them but lowers the barriers to entry.) You can now expand into adjacent markets, and offer services in areas that you earlier were not operating in. As there is no upfront cost of acquiring new software, it is less expensive for a print specialist to move into digital publications for tablet devices. (and maybe later evolve into video production). This also empowers you to create true multi-media deliverables that were expensive due to upfront software costs.

Adobe Creative Cloud, by leveling the field, will probably hot up some competition. All providers in the market will have access to the same tools. And talent will shine through sooner, rather than later.

Remove fragmentation

If you’ve ever sent a file to the printing service, and have them call back and say that they can’t open the file, you already know what I’m talking about. Adobe Creative Cloud has the potential to standardize the entire ecosystem to the same version of software tools. You can continue to push the boundaries and operate on the cutting edge, safe in the knowledge that your designs can be opened by others. No one will ever complain about not being able to open the files, or god forbid open the file in a version higher than yours and effectively lock you out.

As the Creative Cloud concept picks up, I suspect that the entire tools and plugins ecosystem will also adopt this model. Your favorite plugin vendor will probably move to the subscription model and you’ll have access to the latest and greatest plugins. As software vendors won’t really have to spend all that time and effort maintaining old code, you’ll probably get more features and a bigger bang for your buck.

Training will also evolve, and your training partners will offer updated courses as new features are released.

It’ll probably happen. It’s just a matter of time.

So, what do you think?

I’ve tried to elaborate on what I think the value proposition is—value to designers, and the industry as a whole. I’m sure there is more to think about, but this is enough for now.

For questions you haven’t even thought of yet, see Creative Cloud FAQs. You’ll probably find an answer there.

InDesign is a versatile page layout software that provides pixel-perfect control over layout and design. In addition to the print, InDesign coupled with Digital Publishing Suite provides one of the easiest and most efficient methods of publishing on tablets. This new release: InDesign CS6 carries new features and tools that will change the way you work. You can leverage and adapt content for different page sizes, devices and screens.

While most of the features can be used to create multiple types of outputs, some are quite specific. I’ve made an attempt to list down (most?) of the InDesign new features, and categorized them as per the workflow they’re most likely to be used in.#1

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This blog contains opinions and thoughts that are my own and that are not necessarily shared by the company that I work for. Adobe allows its employees to share their opinions publicly through the use of blogs, Twitter, and other forms of social media.